


Bad Timing Must Be a Peralta Specialty

by DeepBlueQL



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jake's Mom - Freeform, The rubber band ball Amy held for like two seconds in the pilot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-01
Updated: 2014-04-01
Packaged: 2018-01-17 19:14:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1399360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeepBlueQL/pseuds/DeepBlueQL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake and Amy have a nice day in the office until an untimely interruption.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bad Timing Must Be a Peralta Specialty

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cresselia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cresselia/gifts).



> This is for Kateleesi/Cresselia for the Jake/Amy fic exchange. The three prompts were  
> 1) Teddy breaks up with Amy; Jake confronts him  
> 2) Jake and Amy babysit  
> 3) Jake's mom visits the precinct  
> I picked #3. And I’m the worst! I’m such a huge procrastinator, and at first I tried writing this in a completely different direction, but that didn’t pan out. Sorry if this seemed rushed. Any and all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Kateleesi/Cresselia, I hope you enjoy. You and all the other writers in the B99 fandom are seriously so amazing and I’m way intimidated.
> 
> Story Notes: Jake went undercover without ever telling Amy how he felt.

Jake made his way through the bullpen, sundry office supplies overflowing in his hands. He was feeling rather buoyant. It had been a pretty good day. In fact, it was shaping up to be a perfect day. 

The precinct was almost deserted that afternoon. Gina had called in sick, but judging from her drunk texts the night before, Jake would put his money (had he any) on a massive hang over and not the stomach flu, like she claimed. The Sergeant was out with Boyle, and Rosa was meeting with a CI for the case she and Amy were working.

Jake had been planning on doing some surveillance across town, but going lone wolf just didn’t have the same appeal after he’d noticed Amy working alone at her computer. 

Sitting in a car (that yes, ok, does sometimes smell like old cheese) with nothing but a camera for company, _or_ sitting at the desk across from Amy Santiago and getting to see her chew on pen caps as you try to finish some overdue paperwork.

Not really too difficult a choice.

And the morning had passed in an easy rhythm. The Captain had stayed sequestered in his office and then left early for a function at Columbia, and Jake and Amy had worked in companionable silence, with Jake still finding excuses to not do his paperwork. 

Like raiding Charles’ desk drawer breadbox for some ciabatta, or running out real quick to grab Amy’s favorite quad-shot soy sugar-free vanilla latte (no foam, with whipped cream - he usually forgot that part) so that maybe he could hear the contented little “mmm” she always made with the first sip.

His latest tactic for procrastination was a run to the office supply closet, and his eyes were fixed on Amy as he walked back across the room. The clock showed it was almost five, and her high ponytail that had been so neat in the morning was now tied loosely to the side, several strands escaping and framing her face. Jake enjoyed watching the play of her fingers as she would absently push a lock behind her ear at fairly regular intervals.

A large reason for his good mood was that it had taken a lot for Jake and Amy to work together so comfortably. What with the realization of his feelings for his partner, and then her dating Teddy, and then him undercover, and then her still dating Teddy, and now her not dating Teddy. Jake finally felt like maybe things could settle between him and his partner, and maybe he could figure out what to do about these _feelings_.

Barely pausing at his own desk to haphazardly deposit his pile of post-it’s, pens, and an actual canister of glitter which he found in the back of a random drawer (that he would totally save for a special occasion), Jake continued a few more steps until he flopped into the chair next to his partner’s desk.

Amy looked away from her computer screen and raised an eyebrow at him. 

“What’s up, Peralta?” she asked, her tone indulgent. Jake casually quirked a small smile at her, smothering his desire to grin. A year ago, she had rarely spoken to him in anything other than exasperation, or, if he was lucky, begrudging tolerance. Now he often detected a softness in her voice, something akin to fondness that made his chest tighten.

Before he’d gotten up to go to the supply closet, Amy had been rubbing her eyes as she stared at the tiny print in the report files. Jake wondered if her glasses would be making a reappearance soon. He quite enjoyed the way they sat on her little nose and made her eyes large and Magoo-ish.

“How’s your blackmail case going?” Jake asked as he got out of the chair to reach across her desk and grab her rubber band ball. As he was sitting back down, he missed the way Amy’s eyes widened for a moment at his proximity.

Jake nodded while Amy went over the details of her case, and pulled off the rubber bands he had wrapped around his wrist one by one, allowing the preoccupation of adding to the multicolored sphere to distract him from how cute his partner was when she got excited over the nitty-gritty of police work.

Before he could snap the last band on, Amy reached over and took both the rubber band and the ball from his hands. The feel of her fingertips brushing against his palm made him tighten his jaw; the playful smile she wore made him bite his tongue. 

Jake looked at her puzzled for a second, before she rolled her chair back a few feet and threw the ball at him. He caught it easily and grinned while volleying it back to her. They lobbed it back and forth for a few more minutes as Amy finished catching him up on her case. 

It always felt a little weird when they worked different cases. Not that it was terribly uncommon, but it just meant that even if they were working next to each other, they weren’t really together. So it was nice, knowing what she was working on and how it was going.

Amy threw the ball one last time, but somehow he fumbled it and had to flail a bit (almost falling out of the chair) before he had a sure hold. He held up the ball in one hand with a flourish and said, “Voila” before he could remember how uncool that sounded.

Jake loved Amy’s laugh, even when she was laughing at him, but it wouldn’t do any good to make that too obvious, so he pouted and said, “Hey, a little gratitude would be nice. If it weren’t for me replenishing your stock all the time, your rubber band ball would have been used up a long time ago.” 

Amy rolled her eyes. “Thank you so much, Detective Peralta. You’re a credit to this precinct.”

Jake pretend-preened a bit and then stood up. “And for my final trick…”

Setting up like he was shooting a basket, Jake tossed the rubber band ball across her desk.

He called out “Kobe!” at the same time she let out a dismayed, “Jake!”

The rubber band ball bounced once on her stack of papers and once on her keyboard before landing neatly in the paperclip cup that she usually kept it in.

“Swish,” Jake said, inordinately pleased with himself.

Amy, however, had her signature Santiago Scowl in place and primly told Jake, “I would prefer if you didn’t throw my things. Now my report says that our persons of interest in the case are ‘Steven Barnett, Michael Shepherd, and Richard uiy7.’”

“Ooh, the Uiy7’s are one of the oldest crime families in Brooklyn. I heard they took out all the Uiy6’s.”

Amy rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help from smiling a tiny smile. Those were Jake’s favorite, the way her lips pursed as she tried to fight it, and how it always seemed to embarrass her and she would look at him from beneath her long eyelashes with the hint of a blush touching her cheeks. It was enough to make a goofy guy even goofier.

“Anyways,” she said, straightening the papers on her desk, “what do you think?”

“Sounds like you and Rosa are doing great. I definitely think the coworker is a strong lead to pursue, and I like how you threw him off his game by saying that the vic lost his cellphone a week earlier,” Jake said, not bothering to hide the admiration in his voice. He was (mostly) past the pettiness that had defined their partnership in its early years. Amy was a great cop and after all the times she’d had his back, she deserved nothing less that his full support.

Amy beamed, and Jake internally debated whether or not Amy smiling so bright and warm he could feel his face heat up, was actually his favorite of her smiles. It was too hard to choose.

He reluctantly returned to his own chair, and as he sat down, he felt like maybe there would never be a better time.

“Hey, Amy?”

“Yeah?” she asked, not looking up from a report in front of her. Jake didn’t answer for a beat, and Amy met his gaze.

“I was wondering if you wanted, I mean, are you maybe not busy tonight?” Jake stumbled over his words and could feel an embarrassed flush threaten to overtake his face.

Amy smiled, but it was one that Jake couldn’t quite read.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, you’re not busy? Or yeah, you are? Or yeah, you want to-”

And at that moment, the last voice he expected in the world, cut through the empty precinct.

“Jakey!”

Jake spun around in his chair, already knowing who was coming.

“Mom?”

And sure enough, Rebecca Peralta came rushing into the station and over to him.

Jake quickly stood, expecting the imminent enthusiastic hug.

“Hey, Mom. What are you doing here?”

Rebecca released her son and smoothed down a flyaway lock of hair. Jake couldn’t help but smile at his mother, but his eyes darted to Amy. He had been so close! And her face was still just as inscrutable, but for a cast of surprise over her eyes.

“Introductions, Jacob. Or people will think I raised you without any manners,” his mother scolded gently.

Jake rolled his eyes, but was careful to do it only when his mother was already looking over at Amy.

“Mom, this is my partner, Detective Amy Santiago. Amy, this is my mom, Rebecca Peralta,” Jake said, waving a hand between all the parties.

Amy moved over to Jake’s desk and shook Rebecca’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure, Ms. Peralta.” And Jake knew Amy had already earned brownie points with his mom for not making the mistake of calling her “Mrs. Peralta,” and electing to use the more stately “Ms.” rather than “Miss.” Rebecca Peralta had worked as a paralegal for 30 years, and such distinctions mattered to her. Good thing Amy was such a stickler for details.

“Jake’s a wonderful detective and I’m lucky to work with him. I’ve always wanted to meet you,” Amy continued. Jake was a little taken aback at Amy’s earnest praise, and a warmth rose from his gut at her generous words.

“Oh my goodness, you are just the sweetest thing. Jake always said he had a lovely partner.”

Jake squawked in protest. “Mom! I did not! I said she was a decent partner! Maybe, _maybe_ , I said she was a good one.” He looked down at his feet. “I never said ‘lovely.’”

“Don’t contradict your mother, Jacob.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Jake looked up and could tell Amy was stifling a laugh.

“Anyway, I came here because you always take so long answering my texts, and I really want you to come to out to dinner with me tonight. I have someone I want to introduce you to. I really think you two will hit it off.”

Jake looked at Amy, but now she was the one looking down at her feet.

“Um, I don’t know if tonight’s a good night, Mom,” Jake said, but Jake should have known better than to try to make excuses to his mother. Rebecca’s hands went to her hips.

“This is really important to me, Jake.”

And Jake faltered. Really, there was little chance he could ever deny his mother anything, especially something so simple as dinner.

But he couldn’t help but look to Amy again. This time, she was staring at him. She offered him a small shrug.

“Yeah, of course, Mom. I’ll come to dinner.”

Rebecca clapped her hands together.

“Perfect. You’re gonna love ‘em, Jakey.” Mission accomplished, Rebecca Peralta was prepared to leave. “Detective Santiago, it was so nice to finally meet you.”

“Oh, please, call me Amy. It was great meeting you, too, Ms. Peralta.”

“Then you’ll have to call me Rebecca.”

Amy nodded. “Of course, have a good day, Rebecca.”

“You too, Dear. Jakey, I’ll see you tonight.”

And with that, Rebecca Peralta made her exit.

Jake looked over at Amy and saw that she was packing up her stuff.

“Hey, um. Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly, his courage having fled him somewhere around the word “lovely.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m actually busy tonight. But have fun. Should be exciting,” Amy said, her eyes fixed on the files she was stowing in her bag.

Jake didn’t know how to respond except with a weak smile that Amy didn’t look up to see.

“Maybe another time,” Amy offered, her tone a little distant as she finally met his eyes. Jake nodded, and Amy headed out of the precinct.

“Yeah, another time.”

Bad timing must be a Peralta specialty.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> At the moment, I have tentative plans to expand this into a series of sorts that will feature more appearances from Rebecca, and members of the Santiago clan.
> 
> I'm a fairly infrequent fic writer, but I've just been hit by so many B99 plot bunnies lately. This is my first B99 fic, so feedback is definitely appreciated.
> 
> You can find my fanfiction tumblr @ DeepBlueQL.


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